S. Korean car sales up in Canada last month: report

TORONTO, April 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korean car sales in Canada continued to climb
last month thanks to improved quality and marketing efforts, an industry report
said Saturday.
The local industry report said South Korean cars made by Hyundai Motor Co. and
Kia Motors Corp. posted positive growth in March despite a drop of 15 percent in
sales across the market. It said the figures mark the third consecutive month
that Hyundai and Kia sales rose compared to the year before.
The latest findings show Hyundai sold 8,818 cars last month, up 25.5 percent
on-year, while Kia's sales gained 12.6 percent to 3,555 units.
Canadian analysts said the gains can be attributed to higher quality and price
competitive vehicles with improved marketing that attracted consumers looking to
buy new cars.
The report noted that new models like Hyundai's Genesis Coupe and Elantra Touring
and Kia's Soul drew positive reviews from carmakers when they reached show
windows last month.
In contrast, sales for cars made by GM, Chrysler and Ford fell 17.6 percent, 26.6
percent and 15.1 percent, respectively.
The consumer report, meanwhile, said that while sales of pickups, minivans and
passenger cars continued to fall vis-a-vis the year before, the decline slowed by
around 10 percentage points from a 25 percent drop in recent months.
(END)